8Realms Beta Begins Today

Jagex Games Studio, the UK’s largest independent games developer and publisher, announced today that the closed beta testing for its highly anticipated strategy game, 8Realms, has begun.

Thousands of players have received their beta keys and started to build their dominion in the first phase of beta testing, to join them simply visit www.8realms.com.

8Realms is a new empire-building strategy game where players grow their settlements from a humble village to a glorious dominion through eight ages of history; ancient, classical, feudal, renaissance, imperial, industrial, modern and future. The beta will include the first seven ages and will offer players the exclusive opportunity to try the game before its public release.
8Realms has been designed to appeal to both casual and hardcore strategy gamers, as it contains all of the key elements of large strategy games within a new and social online platform. Players will develop their settlements and vie with others for control of precious resources, defend their interests against vicious hordes and research new technologies in order to ultimately reign supreme. Player interaction is a key element to the game allowing players to constantly communicate, interact and work alongside one another.

Casual players will be able to drop-in and drop-out of the game to suit their lifestyle whilst more dedicated strategy game players will find 8Realms rich and engaging, allowing for a truly competitive experience not currently offered by other online strategy titles. With a huge depth of gameplay; a highly political environment requiring skilful negotiation, 8Realms encourages players to join forces with others to build great alliances and battle with their enemies to emerge victorious.

The beta phase invites players into the game at this crucial development stage in order to gather valuable feedback on the game mechanics in preparation for the full launch. Dedicated community members and new players alike will play a significant role in making 8Realms the truly unique and trailblazing game it will become in the online strategy genre.

“8Realms perfectly balances compelling gameplay, designed to appeal to players with a passion for strategy gaming, and unrestricted accessibility,” said Rob Smith, Vice President.

“8Realms is a fresh new take on the online empire-building strategy genre. This will offer those who have been underwhelmed by recent strategy games a more engaging experience that they can play in wherever they are. The closed beta is a critical part of the development cycle and it is a great opportunity to involve both our loyal community, and players new to Jagex, to help prepare the game for launch.”

8Realms will be available to play for free on many internet capable devices, in any web browser, allowing anyone with a computer, netbook, tablet PC or iPad to become masters of their empire wherever they are.

8Realms will break new ground for Jagex as their first game fully coded in HTML, using minimal java and no flash, requiring no plug-ins, offering unbeatable accessibility.